Was in the broodnest of one hive, hive looked like moisture had been a problem. First photos in the video show a grayish discoloration on the top of the deep frames. The bees were in a super above this deep, an occasional dead bee sticking in, no brood, no capped brood, no eggs, no evidence of any of the above in the deep. The super was one of the only ones I had left with bizarre comb, I did not disturb what is obviously the brood nest, so it became the bottom, and I put an empty box on top of that. The super was heavy enough I don't think they need to be feed. I do have frames of honey to feed, and did in a different hive.
Anyhow, the photos are in a youtube
video and I would appreciate you takiing a look at it and letting me know if you think this is sugar they are getting somewhere? Mold? Illness? Fungus? No odor that I noticed, not a huge number of dead bees at the bottom.
The hive these came from is weak but alive and active, maybe only the size of a package. Interestingly, the hive I most expected to loose was gang busters far superior to the other two, so ti got a super and the queen excluder since I know for sure where she is. Along with that, it only had a screened, no bottom in it all winter, was 6" off the ground but wind protected around the base. They were almost out of honey so they got a frame. I did not re-use any of that equipment, is scraping them enough or do they need burned?